If, in perusing the music pages of your local paper, you see that Habib Koite is coming to perform anywhere near you, put on your hat and coat and get down to the show immediately. 

I've listened to him for the past few years, after just sampling one of his discs at a listening station in a record store.  He is a singer/songwriter and wonderful acoustic guitarist from Mali.  His band, Bamada includes drummer, percussionist extraordinaire, bassist, another guitarist/vocalist, and some legendary Balafon player (an African type of Marimba) whose name I cannot remember nor pronounce. 

The show was sold out, and I made the big mistake of waiting to buy tix at the door.  I had to wait for a scalper to finally get in.  Won't do that again.

The music was as excellent as the CD's, but the visual show a whole other realm.  Endless grooves, trancelike.  A religious experience in some respects.  Towards the end, everyone was dancing in the aisles, and getting pretty wild.  There is an African custom apparently, where you can take some dollar bills, walk up to the stage, or right on the stage and throw 'em for/at the band.  When the first guy did it, I didn't know what to think, but then people kept coming up throughout the concert, and Habib and the boys seemed mighty pleased.  Total party.

So, if Habib comes...you go, and bring a fistful of dollars!

Gene

P.S.  If you want to hear a good sample of his work, get the CD Muso Ko.